United States 

Department of 

Agriculture

Animal and 

Plant Health 

Inspection 

Service

September 

2012

Analysis in Support of Certification that the 

Rule will not have a Significant Economic 

Impact on a Substantial Number of Small 

Entities

Interim Rule 

APHIS-2012-0079

Golden Nematode; Removal of Regulated 

Areas in Livingston and Steuben Counties, 

New York

Policy & Program Development

Policy Analysis & Development
i

Summary

This rule codifies a Federal Order issued in February 2012, removing certain areas in 

Livingston and Steuben counties in the State of New York from the golden nematode (GN) 

domestic quarantine regulation in §301.85, thereby reducing the GN regulated area by a total of 

262,847 acres. 

GN is a major pest of potato plants and also attacks eggplant, tomato plants, and 

soybeans, among other crops. The GN quarantine negatively affects the sales of these 

agricultural commodities, and the operations of non-agricultural businesses that use earthmoving equipment as well. The pest is spread by the transport of cysts in soil, in particular 

through the inadvertent movement of infested soil attached to agricultural products, farming 

equipment, and other regulated articles.

In 2007, there were 38 farms that harvested potatoes in these two New York counties, 10 

farms in Livingston County and 28 farms in Steuben County. These 38 farms represented about 

4.4 percent of potato farms in the State of New York. New York farms that harvested potatoes in 

2007 represented about 6 percent of such farms in the United States and planted about 2 percent 

of the Nation’s acres from which potatoes were harvested.

Affected entities will benefit from no longer needing to satisfy compliance requirements 

of the quarantine. They may also find improved export opportunities. While the potato farms in 

the two counties qualify as small entities, they are few in number and their share of the Nation’s 

potato industry is small. The APHIS Administrator has determined that the action will not have 

a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.
1

Introduction 

This analysis provides the basis, as required by the Regulatory Flexibility Act, for 

certification by the APHIS Administrator that the interim rule, if promulgated, will not have a 

significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.

In February 2012, APHIS issued a Federal Order to terminate the designation of certain 

areas in Livingston and Steuben counties in New York as golden nematode (GN) regulated areas. 

Specifically, this action removed 262,118 acres in Livingston County and 729 acres in Steuben

County from the GN quarantined areas listed in 7 CFR §301.85.

Areas in Livingston County have been regulated since the early 1980s and areas in 

Steuben County since the 1960s. APHIS and the New York Department of Agriculture and 

Markets work cooperatively to survey, quarantine, and control GN with the goal to eradicate this 

pest.

GN is a major pest of potato plants and also attacks other crops. It is spread by the 

transport of cysts in soil, in particular through the movement of infested soil attached to 

agricultural products, farming equipment, and other regulated articles. The quarantine negatively 

affects the sales of potatoes and other agricultural commodities, such as eggplants, tomatoes, 

onions, beets, carrots, turf grass, soybeans and wheat. 

Potential Impact on Small Entities

Potato farms in Livingston and Steuben counties, which numbered 38 in 2007, are the 

primary beneficiaries of the lifting of the GN quarantine. According to the Small Business 

Administration (SBA) standard, a business engaged in potato production is considered to be a 
2

small entity if its annual receipts are not more than $750,000. Average annual sales for New 

York potato producers in 2007 are estimated to have been about $61,500.1

Table 1 provides information on the number of potato farms and harvested acres in the 

two counties, in relation to potato farms and harvested acres in New York and the United States. 

The 38 farms in Livingston and Steuben counties that harvested potatoes in 2007 represented 

about 4.4 percent of such farms in New York. However, they planted about 25 percent of the 

State’s acres of harvested potatoes. New York farms that harvested potatoes in 2007 represented 

about 6 percent of such farms in the United States and planted about 2 percent of the Nation’s 

acres from which potatoes were harvested. This rule will eliminate all costs associated with the 

GN pest control program, including labeling, inspection, and certification, for entities in the areas 

in Livingston and Steuben counties that are no longer under quarantine. 

Table 1. Number of farms that harvested potatoes and harvested acreages in the United States, in 

the State of New York, and in the counties of Livingston and Steuben, NY 

Number/ 

percentage 

of Farms

Number/percentage of 

Harvested Acres

United States 15,014 1,131,963

State of New York 860 18,911

Livingston County 10 1,082

Steuben County 28 3,626

Livingston and Steuben counties 38 4,708

State of New York as a percentage of the U.S. 6% 2%

The sum of the two counties as a percentage of 

the State of New York 4.4% 25%

 Source: 2007 census of Agriculture.

The rule will also benefit agricultural enterprises other than potato growers in the 

deregulated areas in the two counties. These two counties also produce soybeans, eggplants, and 

tomatoes. Certain non-agricultural entities will benefit from the rule as well. They include 

 

1 National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS).
3

businesses that use earth-moving equipment and might inadverterly move infested soil out of the 

quarantined area, such as construction firms and entities that install and maintain pipelines. They

will not need to continue to comply with the GN quarantine regulations.

A benefit of the rule for potato growers in the deregulated areas may be improved export 

opportunities. Potato exports from New York may be constrained because of the GN quarantine, 

as suggested by the value of those exports relative to the value of potato exports from a State 

unaffected by GN, such as North Carolina. As shown in table 2, these two States have similar 

numbers of potato farms and acres harvested, but while the value of potato production in New 

York was over three times the value of North Carolina’s potato production in 2007, the value of 

potato exports by New York was less than one-fourth that of North Carolina. Recognizing that 

various factors influence States’ export levels, the GN quarantine may play a role in constraining 

that State’s potato exports. Producers in the deregulated areas in the two counties will be relieved 

of GN-related export restrictions imposed by other countries. 

Table 2. Potato farms, acreage, production, and exports for New York and North Carolina, 2007

State

Potato 

Farms Potato Harvested 

Acres

Potato 

Production Potato Exports Export Rankby State

Number Value (thousand dollars)

New York 860 18,911 $68,400 $754 13

North 

Carolina 1,123 14,760 $22,545 $3,616 10

Source: 2007 Census of Agriculture.

The rule will have positive economic impacts, although the number of farms affected and 

their share of the Nation’s potato industry are small. Under these circumstances, the Administrator 

of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has determined that this action will not have a 

significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.